The Price John McCain Paid Per Vote on Tuesday (Literally)

As voter surveyspredicted earlier this week, John McCain handily won Arizona's GOP bitter Senate primary on Tuesday evening. He captured 56 percent of the vote compared to challenger J.D. Hayworth's 32 percent, totaling 281,347 votes for McCain. So, considering the $21 million cost of his campaign, the septuagenarian maverick paid approximately $74.64 per vote.

To put this desperation in perspective, McCain's 2008 presidential campaign spent $293 million for 58.3 million votes, averaging $5.03 per lever-pull. For his 1982 congressional campaign, McCain spent $550,000 for 89,116 votes, or $13.54/vote in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Of course, McCain still has to defeat Democrat Rodney Glassman in November to keep his Senate seat — but he probably won't break a sweat while doing so. Our advice to the heavily unfavored newcomer: start buying lottery tickets immediately.

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